I think I really needed “The Bakersfield Expedition,” this week’s episode of The Big Bang Theory, after last week’s offering left me with such a sour taste in my mouth. I admit to going on a bit of a rant, and I still stand by everything I said, but I felt terrible that I had to say those things. I love this show and I love these characters and it wasn’t any fun for me to walk away from that episode upset.

Fortunately, this week, my faith was renewed on two different fronts. Let’s talk about the boys first. On their way to a comic convention in Bakersfield, the guys made a detour to Vasquez Rocks, the backdrop of many an alien planet on Star Trek (most notably as Vulcan in the 2009 movie), to take some photos in their Next Generation uniforms. During the shoot, Leonard’s car was stolen, leaving them stranded. As no one would stop for them, except to throw slurpees at them, the boys had to walk until they reached a diner, where no one, from the waitresses to the patrons to the cops, took them seriously.